Dr. N. Singh’s work with the UN was not a secret.

Naresh Singh's work with UN while at CIDA was not secret.

It was perplexing
to a lot of people when Naresh Singh’s coveted post of Deputy Secretary General
for CARICOM (Caribbean Community) was withdrawn. But according to the press, allegations were
made by Mario Dion, claims of unethical conduct while Singh was leading a
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) program. According to the press, Dion claimed that
Singh misappropriated office resources here, and that he undertook
commissioning of similar services in the private sector while being paid by
CIDA.

But there is a key
piece of information that the press seems to have overlooked. While Singh worked for CIDA, he was
approached to take on a private contract with the United Nations. Both sides, CIDA and the UN, knew on most occasions
about the work Singh was doing for each other.
Singh cites that he accepted the work with the UN when he had the
“appropriate approval” from CIDA for all except two minor consultancies.

So, if both
organizations knew about each other’s projects, what seems to be the
problem? Is it the emails, phone calls,
or a bit of photocopying that Dr. Singh handled with Party A while working for
Party B and vice-versa? Are we really to
believe that in our complex society, one that is dependent on multi-tasking,
that there isn’t a bit of overlap now and then?

Whatever happened
to intentions? Singh’s were honest and
he remains adamant that, “in execution of my consultancies, I received a very
small number of isolated emails and conference calls during business hours
which were inappropriate; however at no time did I intentionally break the
rules or attempt to enrich myself at the expense of the Canadian taxpayer.”

Singh was about to
step into the CARICOM position when the negative assertions were revealed and
then were proliferated by the media. He
issued a statement that there was no reason for the Caribbean Community to
pause in going through with his appointment.
CARICOM not only paused, but they rescinded the offer.

There has not been
any substantial evidence brought forth in the allegations that Dr. Singh broke
any regulations set forth by CIDA. In
fact, CIDA highly recommended him to FCM for the CARILED position, citing his
outstanding work contributions.

Regarding
accusations of conflict of interest when Singh accepted a position as Director
with FCM, he was proven to have been chosen from among 200 applicants in an
open competition.

Singh’s work with
the United Nations was no secret, and he remains concerned that the false
accusations were not related to consulting work, but rather were minor
infractions involving e-mail and telephone communiques while on the job.

This has created
quite a lot of fallout from an overblown situation, one that Singh wants very
much to rectify.